Our Lady of the Mountains

Sanctuary of the White Peoples' saw · Villamartin (Cadiz)

In the skirt of the hill of Pajarete, next to the old fortress of Matrera, the shrine of the Mountains has a very deep-rooted serrana devotion in Villamartin and its region, with pilgrimage every 8 September.

Origin and history

The popular tradition tells that the image was lost among the weeds and was found by a woodsman or shepherd at the foot of a chubby, near the place where the hermitage is raised today. The documented history retains the request raised in 1562 to the Archbishopric of Seville to build a hermitage on the site of the find, raised about 1563 next to a spring; the temple, consecrated to the Virgin of the Mountains and to San Ginés - the pattern of the winegrowers - also served the vineyards of the area.

From the 16th century it is the place of pilgrimage of Villamartin and many villages of the province, in the mountains of the White Peoples. His pilgrimage, on 8 September, is still very alive, with cavalry, carts and faithful on foot. The image has been canonically crowned. It is one of the most entrenched devotions of Villamartin and its region.

Formal canonical patronage and year of coronation: they are not safely recorded in the sources.